Congress Charges Up For Punjab Polls; Amarinder To Stand Against Parkash Singh Badal

It seems the addition of cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu have enthused the Congress party which announced that its state president Amarinder Singh would take on Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in the latter's traditional assembly seat of Lambi.

The party then stated that its Lok Sabha MP from Ludhiana, Ravneet Singh Bittu, who is a grandson of former Chief Minister Beant Singh, will contest against Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal from the latter's Jalalabad seat. Sidhu, a four-time former BJP MP, would contest from the Amritsar-East assembly seat.

Sidhu stated that "joining the Congress was a home-coming" for him and that he was a "born Congressman". Describing Lambi as his "karam bhoomi" (place of action) from where he would "teach the Badals a lesson for the savagery and atrocities they had unleashed on the people of Punjab over the past 10 years", Amarinder Singh on Monday said he would get all cases of religious sacrilege thoroughly investigated and punish the Badals if found guilty.

Amarinder criticised the AAP leadership, particularly is national convener Arvind Kejriwal, for "their attempts to unleash anarchy in the state to promote their personal interests at the cost of the interests of the Punjabis". "He's a liar out to snatch power in Punjab and become the Chief Minister of the state," Amarinder said on Kejriwal. Elections to 117 assembly seats in Punjab will be held on 4 February.

With IANS Inputs